CHICAGO (November 16, 2022) - After picking up a pair of wins to open the 2022-23 season last week, Loyola University Chicago (3-0) ventures outside the state of Illinois for the first time this season when it begins play in the 2022 Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday evening against Tulsa.  Tip-off between the Ramblers and Golden Hurricanes is set for 8:30 p.m. (CT) from inside the HTC Center in Conway, S.C. 

Last Time Out
Loyola shot 55 percent from the field, but needed a second-half surge to fend off city rival UIC last Friday night at Credit Union 1 Arena, picking up a hard-fought 70-63 win over the Flames.  Philip Alston paced a group of four Ramblers to score in double figures with 18 points and seven rebounds.  Tom Welch continued his red-hot start to 2022-23, operating at a perfect clip from the field for the second time in as many games as he put up 13 points.

Loyola/Tulsa – The Series
Loyola and Tulsa will meet for only the third time in the finale of Thursday's quarterfinal-round slate.  The Ramblers prevailed in both of the previous meetings, the most recent of which came back on December 18, 1965 when Loyola recorded a 100-72 win at Chicago Stadium.

Loyola sports a 28-44 record (.389) versus current members of the American Athletic Conference, with its most recent matchup against a member institution coming back on November 25, 2019 when it dropped a 66-55 decision to South Florida as part of the Cayman Islands Classic.

Scouting Tulsa
Tulsa arrives in Myrtle Beach at 1-1 on the young season.  After dropping its season opener on the road at Oregon State, 73-70, the Golden Hurricane bounced back to record an 85-79 win over Jackson State this past Saturday at the Reynolds Center.  Under the direction of first-year head coach Eric Konkol, who spent the previous seven seasons in an identical role at Louisiana Tech, Tulsa was picked 11th in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll after finishing 11-20 (4-14 AAC) in 2021-22.

Konkol welcomes back eight letterwinners from last season, a group highlighted by starters Sam Griffin and Anthony Pritchard. Griffin has enjoyed a red-hot start to the season, averaging a team-best 19.0 points, including a 29-point outburst in the Golden Hurricane's clash with Oregon State.

Up Next
Loyola will take on either Boise State or Charlotte on Friday in its second game as part of the Myrtle Beach Invitational.